View source for Quincy Rail Bridge

{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name= Quincy Rail Bridge
|image= File:Original Quincy Rail Bridge-1868.jpg
|caption= The original Quincy Rail Bridge (1868-1899)
|official_name= 
|also_known_as= 
|carries= 
|crosses= [[Mississippi River]]
|locale= [[West Quincy, Missouri]] and [[Quincy, Illinois]]
|maint= 
|id= 
|design= [[Truss bridge]] (since 1960)<br>[[Swing bridge]] (1868-1960)
|mainspan= {{convert|339|ft|meter}}
|length= 
|width= 
|clearance= 
|below= {{convert|63|ft|meter}}
|traffic= 
|open= 1868 (original bridge)<br>1890 (first replacement)<br>1960 (current bridge)
|closed= 
|toll= 
|map_cue= 
|map_image= 
|map_text= 
|map_width= 
|coordinates= {{Coord|39|56|30|N|91|25|51|W|region:US_type:landmark}}
|lat= 
|long= 
}}

The '''Quincy Rail Bridge''' is a truss bridge that carries a rail line across the [[Mississippi River]] between [[West Quincy, Missouri]], and [[Quincy, Illinois]], USA. It was originally constructed in 1868 for the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]], a predecessor of [[BNSF Railway]].

From the 1950s until 1971 it served the ''[[Kansas City Zephyr]]'' and ''[[American Royal Zephyr]]'' daily passenger trains between Chicago and Kansas City.  It served [[Amtrak]]'s ''[[Illinois Zephyr]]'' from Chicago to West Quincy, Missouri, from 1971 to 1993.{{Citation needed|reason=a source needed for this statement|date=May 2021}}

Since the [[Great Flood of 1993]] the [[Amtrak]] ''Illinois Zephyr'' and ''[[Carl Sandburg (Amtrak)|Carl Sandburg]]'' services terminate at the [[Quincy (Amtrak station)|Quincy station]], although  after the passengers have disembarked the trains do cross the bridge to the BNSF Railway [[Rail yard|yard]] in West Quincy, where the equipment is oriented in the proper direction for the return trip on the [[Wye (railroad)|wye]] and is stored until the next departure.  This Mississippi River crossing does serve as a backup route should the [[Fort Madison Toll Bridge]] crossing be unavailable.{{Citation needed|reason=a source needed for this statement|date=May 2021}}

==Current bridge==
The current structure, located at Mississippi River mile 380.0, was built in 1960. It has a [[Through-truss|through truss]] main span of {{convert|339|feet|meter}}. the other spans of the bridge are deck trusses. When this bridge was constructed, the channel for boat traffic was relocated from the west side of the river to the east side.<ref name="Weeks">{{cite web| url =https://www.johnweeks.com/river_mississippi/pagesB/umissBR08.html| title =Quincy Rail Bridge| last =Weeks| first =John A.| date = 2008| website =| publisher =| access-date = April 18, 2021| quote = }}</ref> The bridge opened on November 11, 1960 dedicated by Harry Murphy, president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It was built at a cost of $9,575,000. With the opening of the bridge, the railroad made a donation to the city of the island between the river and Quincy Bay (Quinsippi Island) and one of the old bridges across the bay for use as a recreational area.<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=November 12, 1960|title=First Freight Crosses New Burlington Bridge|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/374672558/?terms=quincy%20bridge|journal=[[The Chicago Tribune]]|volume=CXIX|issue=272|pages=B5|doi= |access-date=April 20, 2021}}</ref>

==Original bridge (1868—1899)==
The first structure at this location was completed at ten AM on November 7, 1868 when bridge engineer [[Thomas Curtis Clarke|Thomas C. Clarke]] tested the structure with the crossing of locomotive engines. The bridge and a total of two miles of track formed a new connection between the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and the [[Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad]]. Built by the Quincy Bridge Company and its president Nathaniel Bushnell, the bridge was a [[swing bridge|swing span]], [[wrought iron]] Pratt truss which cost $1,500,000.<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=November 9, 1868|title=Quincy Railroad Bridge: The Formal Opening-Testing Its Strength and Capabilities-Report of the Engineers-Banquet, &c.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/465952086/|journal=[[The Chicago Tribune]]|volume=XXII|issue=132|pages=2|doi= |access-date=April 18, 2021}}</ref> The 362-foot long swing truss created two spans of 181 feet. Sixteen fixed spans using a [[Whipple truss]] complete the river crossing to make the bridge 3,189 feet long (2 spans at 250 feet, three spans at 200 feet, and eleven spans at 157 feet). A second bridge across Quincy Bay (the waterway between present-day Quinsippi Island and the city of Quincy) included another draw span.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clarke| first1=Thomas C.| author-link1=Thomas Curtis Clarke| year=1869| editor1-last=Van Nostrand|editor1-first=David|editor1-link=David Van Nostrand| title=Clarke's Quincy Rail Bridge| url=https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/vannostrandsecle31870newy|access-date=April 18, 2021| journal=Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine| publisher=D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.| publication-place=New York| publication-date=July 1870| volume=III| issue=XIX| pages=49–52}}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal |last1=Griggs| first1=Frank Jr.| date=May 2008|title=Great Achievements: Thomas C. Clarke|url=https://www.structuremag.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/D-GrAcheivements-Griggs-May081.pdf|journal=Structure Magazine|volume= |issue= |pages=48–50| access-date=April 18, 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417225855/http://www.structuremag.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/D-GrAcheivements-Griggs-May081.pdf|archivedate=April 17, 2016}}</ref>

==First replacement (1899—1960)==
The original bridge was replaced in 1899 as the original wrought-iron truss could not carry the heavier trains and engines in use at the time.<ref>{{cite journal |date=December 17, 1897| title=The New Quincy Bridge| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCtLAQAAMAAJ| access-date=April 18, 2021| journal=The Railway Age| type= |series= |language= |edition= |publication-place=Chicago|volume=24| issue=25| pages=1012–1013}}</ref> This bridge included wagon bridge decks cantilevered off the sides of the rail bridges to accommodate farm traffic and automobiles. Once the [[Quincy Memorial Bridge]] opened in 1930, the wagon bridge decks were subsequently removed from this railroad bridge.<ref name="Weeks" /> This bridge included two separate bridges across Quincy Bay and a [[Junction (rail)|junction]] on the island between the bay and the river. Both bridges across Quincy Bay were swing bridges to allow passage of ships into Quincy Bay. On November 27, 1915, a passenger train travelling east from Missouri fell into the bay after failing to stop when the swing bridge was open for a barge.<ref>
{{cite web| url =https://www.hsqac.org/train-met-tragedy-on-mississippi-river-railroad-bridge| title =Train met tragedy on Mississippi River railroad bridge| last =Lane| first =Beth| date = December 25, 2016| website =| publisher =Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County| access-date = April 20, 2021| quote = }}
</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Structurae | id = 20030664 | title = Quincy Rail Bridge}}
*[https://bridgehunter.com/il/adams/quincy-rr/ BNSF - Quincy Railroad Bridge] at [https://bridgehunter.com/ Bridgehunter.com]
*[https://bridgehunter.com/il/adams/bh64733/ CBQ - Quincy Railroad Bridge (Old)] at Bridgehunter.com
*[https://bridgehunter.com/il/adams/bh70509/ CBQ - Quincy Railroad Bridge (Oldest)] at Bridgehunter.com

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [[Mississippi River]]
|bridge          = Quincy Rail Bridge
|bridge signs    = ''BNSF Railway''
|upstream        = [[Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = [[Image:US 136.svg|25px]]
|downstream      = [[Bayview Bridge]]
|downstream signs = [[Image:US 24.svg|20px]] '''West'''
}}

[[Category:Truss bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Swing bridges in the United States|Quincy Rail Bridge (1868-1960)]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Marion County, Missouri]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Quincy, Illinois]]
[[Category:Quincy–Hannibal area]]
[[Category:Railroad bridges in Missouri]]
[[Category:Railroad bridges in Illinois]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]]
[[Category:BNSF Railway bridges]]
[[Category:Interstate railroad bridges in the United States]]